Biz Beat: Eclectic assortment at Gallery Finesse in Turlock

Regina Emig met her fiancé, Ken Kelleher, as they were setting up for an antiques show. Newly retired from Emanuel Medical Center, Emig said she and Kelleher decided to pursue their passion for arts and antiques full time.

They opened Gallery Finesse last month in downtown Turlock. It’s a combination art museum and store, with an eclectic assortment from original paintings and furniture more than a century old to vintage and new jewelry to two graceful stone greyhounds from the Civil War era.

Prices range from $10 for some of the jewelry pieces to several thousand dollars for some of the antique art pieces.

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She and Kelleher did much of the remodeling work on the North Center Street storefront, including installing lighting and displays for paintings. “We wanted more of a gallery effect,” she said.

The couple are happy to have people come in and just talk art and antiques. Emig said she would like to work with local art students. She also enjoys introducing young people to antiques, and says they’re surprised to learn how functional the pieces are.

Like the economy, the antiques business is cyclical. The key, Emig said, is to keep in touch with what people are interested in at a particular time. “It’s a real challenge,” she said. “And I like a challenge.”

• Another Dollar General store has opened in Modesto. The 1100 Carver Road location celebrated its grand opening Nov. 2. It’s in the spot formerly occupied by Sam’s Food City, a longtime area grocer. The new store, which combines elements of a grocery store and a discount store, is hiring about 40 people, according to a company news release. For more, go to

• There are some changes afoot at McHenry Village. La Parilla, a Mexican restaurant in Riverbank, will open its third location at the Modesto shopping center next month, according to its Facebook page. And, as first reported to me by my former boss and current eyes-on-the-street, Mark Vasché, Juline School of Dance is moving into the former site of Valley Sporting Goods (and for those of us who go way back, Dunlap’s).

• My friend Carolyn, who moved to Turlock several years ago, always said the one shop she’d like to bring to the city is a See’s Candies. Carolyn and other chocolate enthusiasts are no doubt thrilled that See’s is coming to town, albeit only for the holidays. According to its website, See’s will open in Monte Vista Crossings on Thursday. It won’t have a candy counter for custom mixes, meaning Santa will have to go elsewhere to get the half-pound boxes of milk chocolate buttercreams he leaves at my house each year. But the shop, open through Dec. 24, will carry boxed chocolates, peanut butter and those famous lollypops (See’s spells it with a “y”).

Carolyn points out that the location would be an excellent site for a permanent See’s. Maybe one day. In the meantime, the store will be open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.